Second 9 - Letter 43 - Leaving Novato, CA

A New Novato!

Well, Buenos Dias! So this week has been crazy! How awesome was the meeting yesterday! The work of salvation is hastening and we all have such a great role to play in it! 

So we received our transfer information and........ (drum roll please)..... I will be opening up a new area in Saint Helena. This is one of the most beautiful areas in the entire mission! It is in the Napa area and it has been covered by the Hermanas that also cover Napa but they have not spent that much time up there because it is a little bit of a drive from Napa. So it will be interesting to see how much work is going on there. I will also be training again! Third time in a row! Yikes! It is kind of scary and I am almost 100 percent sure that I will get a gringa (someone who is white). I shouldn't talk because I am a gringa too but it will be different to train some who is learning Spanish and to be in a duo again. I know that whatever happens is the will of God and I am ready and willing to do His will.

I have been in Novato for 6 months which is a long time.

It is weird packing up all of my stuff. I have so much stinking stuff it is kind of gross! I am trying to organize all of it so I can pack it all. Today's P-day is supposed to be spent packing and everything and then I will go to Santa Rosa tomorrow for the training meetings and everything.

Oh and the news about my companions: Hermana Zurita is staying in Novato and will be training TWO new missionaries and Hermana Lybbert will be going to Rohnert Park which is still in the same stake but a different zone to continue to wait for her visa. It is crazy because she will be serving with an Hermana who came out at the same time as her. So my kids are growing up and I am becoming a grandma of twins. It is just amazing how much responsibility is being put on all of us as the work is hastening.

So we are all excited for all of the changes but is really going to be different but it is going to be great! We have all learned so much from each other and we have been talking about how we can take all of those things and apply them to our new situations.

When Hermana Lybbert first got here for some reason we finally decided to look up what the word Novato means in Spanish. We discovered that it is a word for freshmen or for a new beginning. I have decided that even though I will no longer be serving in Novato this new area will be a new novato. It will be a chance to start basically from scratch.... new area, new companion, new training experience, new members, new investigators, new everything. It could be scary but I am just ready to embrace it. I am looking forward to all of it. I am ready to pray harder than I ever have for he confidence to not be afraid to soak up the opportunity to set a really good first impression. 

I have been doing a lot of soul searching or evaluating lately and have gone back to my time at BYU. I have thought about how scared I was as I was preparing to leave and then Bishop Sandstrom helped me think of all the positive things that were going to happen. Then I continued to remember all of the good things that were going to come out of this experience and it helped me be motivated to go. Then I went to BYU and I was a different person I was able to put aside my fears and really have fun and have such a positive experience that ended up preparing me to be here on the mission. I have been keeping a list of the good things about this new change and I hope for the same results.

Also with this change I have realized that I don't want to make a huge deal about leaving I just want to continue to work super hard and enjoy the little moments. We have had some great events happen this week. We had a awesome zone car wash that was an awesome finding activity and we went to dinner at an amazing Guatemalan restuarant, and then the meeting yesterday!

We are not sure how the meeting yesterday will affect our mission but the changes are going to be GREAT! I know that they are inspired and will help complete the Lord's work. Members are the best tools we truly have so please be willing to help the missionaries. I am hoping that members here will jump on board and help us out because it will help solidify the work.

I invite all of you to check out the new website and figure out what role you can play in missionary work. I testify that the Lord has a specific role for you! 

Thank you for all of your support! Good luck in your missionary efforts!

Love,

Hermana Hillary 

Awesome Zone Car Wash for a finding activity.

Hermana Zurita at the car wash.

Our Zone at the Car Wash

Me with our investigator Ilse and her two little boys.

Hermana Zurita with Ilse and her two boys.

Second 9 - Letter 42 - Novato, CA

A Lesson on Alignment!

My dearest family and friends!

How goes life? So this week has been sooo crazy!!!! First of all I am so sorry that I am a little late getting this out to you all today but it is the last p-day of the transfer. So we partied with our branch President and his wife. They are in their late twenties and soooo much fun! They took us to the golden gate bridge and to in 'n out. It was really fun to be with all of  the amazing people that I love and I am going to be so sad if I leave all of them. 

This week has been amazing and super hard at all the same times. I have learned a lot about alignment this week. Not car alignment but aligning myself with the will of Heavenly Father. This kind of alignment is not very easy and especially for me because I have come to admit that I am a prideful person. I want things to happen my way and I don't want to be patient. However, I have learned that many blessings come from being patient and from praying to accept the Lord's will. 

On that note..... our baptism did not end up happening. We taught him on Monday and we were reviewing the baptismal questions with Alex and  his mom overheard and she did not realize that his baptism was going to be on the 16th. She was not pleased because she did not think that it was right for him to get baptized so soon (in only 2 weeks). She does not want him to be playing around with God and just wants him to create a habit of going to church before he is baptized. She said that she would let him be baptized in around 6 months if she sees that he is committed. However, we hope that it will be a little bit sooner than that. We asked President Alba for permission to fast and through fasting and prayer we were able to align our will with the will of Heavenly Father. We know that Alex is so ready to be baptized but we know that he will be able to strengthen his testimony and his commitment by waiting. It is all happening in the Lord's timing! It has been hard to truly accept this because I wanted him to be baptized while I am here but I know that Heavenly Father has a reason why he wants him to wait. The best part is that Alex understands this and is so ready for this challenge. He is amazing! Truly part of the elect!

Speaking of the elect this week we have been transitioning people which is a nice way of saying that we have stopped teaching them. There are just so many people who would just be ready to be baptized if the acted but they choose not to act and so then they are not really a good use of our time.

We have seen miracles as we have continued to have faith and do this work! Ilse came to a branch activity with her husband and her kids which is huge because her husband does not really want to listen to us or come to church. So that was so exciting. 

This week has also been hard because I am just lacking faith in this area because I have been here for 6 months and I feel like not that much has changed and that I just have not done enough. It has also been hard because my temper has been coming out which is never fun and not easy to control sometimes. I am praying so hard that I can control it and continue to have the spirit with me always! Transfers is on Tuesday and I will probably leave here and train again and open a new area! Ahhhh! It will be great because it is Heavenly Father's will!

Well I love you all! Go to the meeting on June 23rd! It is going to be soooo amazing! Memeber missionary work is going to dominate all other work!

Love you more than in 'n out,

Hermana Hillary

Hermana Lybbert, me and Hermana Zurita at the temple

I am sorry I did not have time to write you all today
but here is a picture of me at the oakland temple

and a picture that I was trying to take and my branch president
 presdiente mejia creeped up on me! 

Second 9 - Letter 41 - Novato, CA

I am a grandma. I baptize and I am a Mormon!

Hola Mi Familia y Mis Amigos! 

Como esta todo?

So first of all I have a new nickname! The Elders thought it would be funny to start calling me Abuelita (which is a way of saying grandma)! I am just kind of slow because my body aches and I have been in this area for a long time so I guess it fits. 

This week has been absolutely INCREDIBLE! 

First things first! Alex came to church this week and he is on the rode to getting baptized on Sunday!! He is so excited and can't wait for his baptism and we are just as excited or maybe even a little more excited. Our mission is trying to complete the goal of the 101 baptisms in a month this July for President and Sister Alba's one year! I am just so excited that I am doing my part as I am bringing more people unto Christ. I love thinking about how big of a miracle Alex has been in my life and I like to think that it is a sign of my obedience and as I continue to do all that I can the miracles will continue to come. That sounds cocky but I feel honored to be the one that has taught Alex and I feel that it is because I have been doing something right and I hope that I continue to obey and that the blessings will come! 

This week we had an awesome zone meeting and President and Sister Alba came which is always a treat! Sister Alba talked a lot about how the work is hastening and how we are preparing for the take off of a rocket and that we must be prepared or the rocket will take off with out us. She also talked about how we can't do this on our own and that we must pray for angels to guide us. It has been an amazing experience as I have prayed for angels to watch over me I feel them literally picking me up and helping me do this work!

President Alba talked about how sacred this work is and how we must take it seriously. He reminded us how our responsibility is to help people participate in sacred ordinances. It is not hard for us to remember that baptism is an ordinance but we often forget that the sacrament is also a sacred ordinance. As we invite people to come to church we are helping them partake of this sacred ordinance and they are on the oath to participating in all of the other ordinances. It is a wonderful responsibility! It is so hard to get people to church but I realized that it is because it is so important. I would invite all of you to make sure that you are taking advantage of the opportunity that you have to participate in a sacred ordinance every single week!

Also I always love when President comes because he is not a man of secrets he just tells us all of the mission details. He told us that there will be 14 new Spanish sisters coming in next transfer and so they will be opening up 6 new Spanish sister areas and most likely opening up the first Spanish Zone in the mission! So that will all be very exciting and I hope I get to be a part of all of it! 

This week I have worked very very hard on perfecting my Spanish and especially perfecting my pronunciation and my accent. It is really hard but I am just taking advantage of the fact that I have an amazing companion that speaks Spanish fluently. I now have a greater appreciation for the story about the currant bush that Elder Christofferson told once in conference. I feel as if I keep getting cut down when I think I am finally at a beautiful point in my growing process but I realize that Heavenly Father (the gardener) knows what I am doing and He will help be get to the perfect growing point.

Also this week we went to the temple! Oh how I love the temple! It is truly the house of the Lord! I just felt such peace and joy. I truly felt like my cup was overflowed and I have the strength that I need to continue with this work! I am so blessed that we are able to go to the temple every three months. We are also blessed with an amazing return missionary Emilie who offered to drive us and she is just amazing she is basically makes our trio into to two companionship's because she is just always so willing to come out with us.

I am just thoroughly enjoying my time in Novato! We have such amazing members and investigators and miracles are around us everyday! 

Missionary work is going to be changing soon and I think that is why Satan is kind of freaking out and it is also so hard but I feel your prayers and I invite you to pray to find out what role you can play in this great work!

I love you all!

Hermana Hillary

Second 9 - Letter 40 - Novato, CA

Is this for reals right now?

Hello followers and friends.... (sometimes I really wonder who reads this so followers out there I invite you to make yourselves known by shooting me an e-mail),

Well this week has been unreal hence the title is this for reals right now?

This week I asked myself this question when.....

- our new investigator Alex age 15 said yes to preparing to be baptized on the 16th and it was only the second lesson

- Alex told us that he has read up to chapter 4 in the book of mormon

- I let Hermana Zurita cut my hair (it is really cute and she should basicaly have her license because she is super good)

- Ilse told us that every one of our lessons these last couple of weeks have been an answer to her prayers

- an Hermana in the branch started teasing me about something and then later said I hope you understand that us Mexicans only tease our closest friends

- Lino told us that he knows that he has felt a special Spirit when he is at the church

- we all got out of bed at 6:30 like three days in a row

We have been seeing so many miracles this week little and big. The biggest one has been Alex for sure. He is incredible! Even though he is only 15 he has a very strong desire to change his life and he is so so so excited to be baptized! It is amazing to see how much he has changed in the 9 days that we have known him. It has made me think of my favorite movie Dan in Real Life and how Dan realizes that it is possible to fall in love with someone in 3 days. I have realized that it is very possible for someone to change in only 9 days or less. I know that the gospel is going to continue to change Alex and his family. his mom is not religious but has given her permission for him to meet with us and to be baptized. It is really all such a big miracle and we thank Heavenly Father for it every day because we really needed it! 

We had been praying to find someone like Alex and he had been praying for us someone to come and teach him. I invite you to pray for someone to share the gospel with and I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that someone is praying for you to find them. It talks about this in Doctrine and Covenants 29:7. Read it! It is great! 

Things are going well here in Novato! We are doing all that we can so that miracles will continue to come!

I love you all so much!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Love,

Hermana Hillary :)